Peer-to-peer networks and file sharing systems are becoming more popular and commercially usable. Generally, the peer-to-peer computing model is deemed to be different from and more versatile than the client-server model of computing, in that each computer on a peer-to-peer network can serve as a client and/or as a server. Peer-to-peer networks are becoming widely used for purposes such as file sharing, interpeer communication, workgroup collaboration, and numerous other business and recreational purposes. More information about peer-to-peer networks may be found generally in Manion et al., U.S. pending patent application Ser. No. 10/309,864, entitled “Peer-to-Peer Identity Management Interfaces and Methods,” and in Manion et al., U.S. pending patent application Ser. No. 10/351,727, entitled “Peer-to-Peer Networking Framework Application Programming Interfaces.” Peers on a peer-to-peer network are said to reside on a “graph,” and some subsets of the peers may be considered as groups within the graph, as described in U.S. pending patent application Ser. No. 10/309,865, entitled “Peer-to-Peer Graphing Interfaces and Methods” and in U.S. pending patent application Ser. No. 10/351,905, entitled “Peer-to-Peer Grouping Interfaces and Methods,” respectively.
On peer-to-peer networks, it can be difficult to enable authentication of a remote peer. Generally, a peer on a network is identified by its credentials, which generally consists of the peer's name and user password. Many network security protocols exist to authenticate users on a network and differentiate between users for purposes of granting differential access rights, but heretofore it has a difficult to differentiate between remote peer-to-peer users. More specifically, although it has been possible to grant or deny a remote peer access to a peer-to-peer group or set of network resources, it has been difficult to differentiate between peers and to provide a different level of access to one peer than to another peer where both peers are allowed access to at least some network resources. Peers may comprise users on entirely different networks which have entirely different security infrastructures, and the security mechanism of a remote peer's network may not be compatible with the security infrastructures on the network on which the peer is seeking access. Moreover, as a general matter peer nodes on a peer-to-peer network generally are deemed to be less “trusted” than nodes on a secure domain. Thus, while a remote peer may be granted or denied access to a group or a set of network resources on an “all-or-nothing” basis, it is difficult to assign peers different levels of user rights.